One of the best films of 2011 is coming soon and we’re happy to exclusively premiere its eye-catching poster. Jonathan Levine‘s 50/50 stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the story of a young man diagnosed with cancer at 27 and given a 50/50 chance of survival. Don’t fret, though, 50/50 isn’t some kind of down-trodden, depressing film. It was actually written by Will Reiser, the person the film is inspired by, and blends a poignant commentary on mortality with some raunchy humor and a touching love story. Scheduled for release on September 30, it co-stars Seth Rogen (who also produced the film), Anna Kendrick, Anjelica Huston and Bryce Dallas Howard. Hopefully you’ve seen the trailer, now check out the poster which takes the above photo one step further.

Here’s the poster, courtesy of Summit Entertainment. Click on the image for a bigger version.

That’ll get people’s attention right?

I have to say, Summit chose almost the perfect image to sell this movie. You’ve got your main character shaving his head, obviously a big deal. Then you’ve got Seth Rogen with one of his patented, awkward, Rogen faces as if to say, “This is played for laughs.” Obviously, the word “cancer” isn’t used anywhere but, once people get into the theater, I don’t think they’ll care. The movie is that good.

Here’s the trailer, which gives an even better idea of what audiences are in for on September 30.

Previously:

Recently we ran an fan review of this film that said “If it wasn’t so funny, and occasionally crude, I’d call this an Oscar contender” and I agree with that sentiment. The film is funny, it is crude, but it’s also incredibly touching without being too depressing or too light. Whether or not the film will be an Oscar contender is up for debate but films that share similarities to it (Philadelphia, Terms of Endearment, etc.) have certainly done well for themselves in years past. The biggest obstacle won’t be the critics though. It’ll be audiences confused by the title or not exactly excited to watch a man battle death. Even if he does use it to get laid.

Finally, here’s the official plot description. Are you looking forward to this film?

Inspired by personal experiences, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen star as best friends whose lives are changed by a cancer diagnosis. Rogen also serves as producer, along with Evan Goldberg and Ben Karlin. Jonathan Levine directs from a script by Will Reiser. “We worked with Will on Da Ali G show, and it was shortly after that we learned he was sick.” Rogen recalls. “As shocking, sad, confusing and generally screwed up as it was; we couldn’t ignore that because we were so ill-equipped to deal with the situation, funny things kept happening. Will got better, and when he did, we thought the best way to pull something good out of the situation was to get him to write a screenplay. Ideally we wanted to make a film that would be as funny, sad, and hopefully as honest as the experience we went through. As soon as the script was completed, it quickly became a passion project for all of us. It helped us come to terms with Will’s struggle as well as our own experiences.” 50/50 is the story of a guy’s transformative and, yes, sometimes funny journey to health. 50/50 draws its emotional core from Will Reiser’s own experience with cancer and reminds us that friendship and love, no matter what bizarre turns they take, are the greatest healers.